Offices & Services

The Archdiocese of Boston has published the following categories of its clergy accused of sexually abusing a child. For more information regarding what is included and what is not included in these categories, please see Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley’s letter dated August 25, 2011. For an explanation of the terms used in these lists, please see the accompanying Glossary.

A. Cases That Have Been Concluded Canonically, Either By Dismissal or Sentence to Life of Prayer and Penance, or Criminally, Either By Plea or Conviction.
This section contains the names of those members of the clergy of the Boston Archdiocese who have been found guilty of sexually abusing a child, either by the Church, the State, or both. In the case of criminal convictions, the cleric either has been convicted after a criminal trial or has pled guilty to a crime involving the sexual abuse of a child. In the case of canonical processes, the clerics whose names are included in this section either have been dismissed from the clerical state ("dismissed") at the end of a canonical process or have been assigned to a life of prayer and penance, with no ministry possible. The Church assigns priests to a life of prayer and penance where they are not suited to dismissal due to age or infirmity.

Name	Ordination Date	Status
Barrett, Robert E	1963	Assigned to Life of Prayer and Penance (2004); Deceased (2008)

Buchette, Anthony L	1957	Dismissed (2005)

Coughlin, Richard T	1953; Excardinated to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (now Diocese of Orange) in 1971	Permanently Restricted

Crowley, Jr., Joseph I (Permanent Deacon)	1980	Pled Guilty to Criminal Charges (1999); Laicized (2006)

Dempsey, Thomas F	Ordained for the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1955; Incardinated into the Archdiocese of Boston in 1976	Pled Guilty to Criminal Charges in Wisconsin (1997); Deceased (1998)

Fay, Robert D	1967	Dismissed (2005)

Gale, Robert V	1968	Pled Guilty to Criminal Charges (2004); Laicized (2006)

Geoghan, John J	1962	Dismissed (1998); Convicted on Criminal Charges (2000); Deceased (2003)

Guthrie, Frederick L	1962	Pled Guilty to Criminal Charges (involving attempted solicitation of a minor over the Internet) (2004); Laicized (2010)

Hanlon, John R	1955	Convicted on Criminal Charges (1994); Laicized (2005)

Hurley, Paul W	1970	Convicted on Criminal Charges (2006); Dismissed (2006)

Iguabita-Rodriguez, Kelvin E	1999	Convicted on Criminal Charges (2003); Dismissed (2005)

Johnson, Harold J	1949	Assigned to Life of Prayer and Penance (2004); Deceased (2009)

Keane, John F	1969	Pled Guilty to Criminal Charges (2008); Dismissed (2009)

Kelley, Edward T	1968	Assigned to Life of Prayer and Penance (2005); Deceased (2011)

Lane, Bernard J	1960	Dismissed (2004)

Laurano, Anthony J	1950	Dismissed (2007); Deceased (2007)

Mahan, Paul J	1968	Dismissed (1998)

McMahon, Gerard T	1961	Pled Guilty to Criminal Charges (2006); Deceased (2013)

Murphy, Francis A	1957; Excardinated to the Archdiocese of Anchorage (1964)	Permanently Restricted

Nyhan, W. James	1973	Pled Guilty to Criminal Charges (2006); Dismissed (2007)

O'Sullivan, Eugene M	1960	Pled Guilty to Criminal Charges (1984); Dismissed (2005)

Paquin, Ronald H	1973	Pled Guilty to Criminal Charges (2002); Laicized (2004)

Plourde, Raymond C	1958	Assigned to Life of Prayer and Penance (2004); Deceased (2013)

Rosenkranz, George J	1962	Dismissed (2006)

Shanley, Paul R	1960	Dismissed (2004); Convicted on Criminal Charges (2005)

Tague, Patrick J	1963	Dismissed (2006)

Tivnan, Paul J	1963	Assigned to Life of Prayer and Penance (2004)

Welsh, Joseph L	1968	Assigned to Life of Prayer and Penance (2004)

B. Cases That Have Been Concluded Canonically By Laicization.
Laicization under Church law is a process whereby the cleric voluntarily requests that he be separated from the clerical state. The laicization process, because it is voluntary, does not involve a determination of guilt for crimes involving the sexual abuse of children. Included in this section are the names of priests who have sought laicization after being accused of sexually abusing a minor.

Name	Ordination Date	Status
Balcom, Gary E	1972	Laicized (1998); Deceased (2002)

Beale, Robert P	1970	Laicized (2010)

Cartier, Jr., Frederick J	1963	Laicized (2010)

Coleman, Joseph K	1981	Laicized (2005)

Connell, John K	1965	Laicized (2005); Deceased (2007)

Conte, Denis A	1975	Laicized (2004)

Daly, Robert F	1967	Laicized (2011)

Finegan, Paul J	1970	Laicized (2005)

Forry, Thomas P	1968	Laicized (2006)

Frost, Peter J	1970	Laicized (2005)

Govoni, Louis J	1972	Laicized (2010)

Keefe, Dennis A	1989	Laicized (2009)

Knapp, Robert J	1965	Laicized (2010)

Matte, Richard O	1964	Laicized (2005)

McDonald, Paul E	1964	Laicized (2005)

McMahon, Jr., Benjamin J	1968	Laicized (2010)

Meffan, Robert V	1953	Laicized (2004)

Morrissette, Robert H	1975	Laicized (2005)

Ryan, Frederick J	1964	Laicized (2005)

Tourigney, Ernest E	1961	Laicized (2006)

Walsh, William M	1971	Laicized (2011)

Ward, Robert A	1974	Laicized (2004)

White, Paul D	1961	Laicized (2005)

Wilson, James L	1990	Laicized (1998)

C. Cases Involving Living Archdiocesan Clergy That Already Have Been Publicized, But Where The Canonical Proceedings Against Those Clergy Have Not Yet Been Resolved.
Included in this section are the names of priests or deacons of the Boston Archdiocese who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing a child, but where there remain to be completed canonical proceedings involving those priests or deacons. In each case, the cleric involved has been removed from public ministry and remains on administrative leave. It must be emphasized that there has been no final determination of guilt or innocence in these cases.

Name	Ordination Date	Status
Barr, Frederick L.	1976	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Berthold, George C	1963	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Braley, James E.	1975	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Butler, William L	1961	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Carroll, John P	1953	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Charest, Edmund P	1960	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Curran, Thomas M	1970	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Foley, James J	1978	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Fratic, Joseph P	1964	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Gaudreau, James E.	1969	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Graham, Daniel M	1970	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Lyons, John P	1955	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Maguire, Thomas H.	1976	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Manning, Paul F	1967	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

McLaughlin, Paul J	1955	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Menna, F. Dominic	1958	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Mullin, Jay M	1969	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Pelletier, Leonard E	1969	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Poitras, Steven W	1993	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Rebeiro, Anthony J	Ordained for Diocese of Nagpur, India in 1956; Incardinated into the Archdiocese of Boston in 1977	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

Surette, C. Melvin	1956	Administrative Leave; Case in Process

D. Cases Involving Priests Accused After Laicization On Other Grounds.
Laicization under Church law is a process whereby the cleric voluntarily requests that he be separated from the clerical state. Included in this section are the names of priests who were already laicized (and therefore no longer in the clerical state) when they were publicly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.

Name	Ordination Date	Status
Carew, Michael J	1949; Incardinated 1964	Laicized (1971)

Dunn, John A	1960	Laicized (1973)

Maloney, William F	1959	Laicized (1974)

Towner, Robert K	1969	Laicized (1990)

E. Cases Involving Deceased Clergy for Whom Criminal or Canonical Proceedings Were Not Completed But The Existence of Allegations Has Been Publicized.
This section includes the names of deceased clergy accused of sexual abuse of a minor for whom criminal or canonical proceedings were not completed, but the existence of allegations has been publicized. In most cases, allegations were received only after the priest's death. In others, the priest died before the conclusion of the proceedings. There has been no formal determination of guilt in these cases. Rather, the Archdiocese has decided to list these names in the interest of transparency and healing.

Name	Ordination Date	Status
Atwater, John T	1963	Deceased (2006)

Aubut, Charles E	1941	Deceased (2002)

Bailot, Eugene J	1937	Deceased (1983)

Bayers, Sydney H	1937	Deceased (1979)

Beauvais, Leon F	1962	Deceased (1997)

Birmingham, Joseph E	1960	Deceased (1989)

Bolduc, Paul J	1960	Deceased (2009)

Boucher, Clarence R	1940	Deceased (2001)

Breton, Philippe C	1936	Deceased (1984)

Bullock, Myron F	1953	Deceased (2007)

Collins, Jeremiah J	1939	Deceased (1982)

Connelly, James E	1943	Deceased (1985)

Cotter, John M	1960	Deceased (1989)

Creighton, Gerald E	1951	Deceased (2004)

Croke, Edmund W	1928	Deceased (1971)

Cummings, William J	1968	Deceased (1994)

Dever, Gerard V	1971	Deceased (1997)

Dewey, Charles F	1939	Deceased (1996)

Fairbairn, Frank E	1969	Deceased (2000)

Fusoni, Joseph A	1960	Deceased (1988)

Guiney, John E	1947	Deceased (1998)

Hagan, Arthur J	1933	Deceased (1963)

Hyder, Raymond L	1929	Deceased (1975)

Jansonis, Alphonse	1945	Deceased (2000)

Kane, Charles R	1953	Deceased (1986)

Keenan, Bernard J	1948	Deceased (1966)

Kenney, Joseph F	1931	Deceased (1992)

Lane, James H.	1962	Deceased (2007)

Lane, John J	1925	Deceased (1971)

LeBlanc, Kenneth	1976	Deceased (2010)

Lombard, Samuel J	1946	Deceased (1998)

McAndrews, John K	1949	Deceased (1986)

McDonald, James T	1953	Deceased (1999)

McKeon, James T	1928	Deceased (1965)

Morgan, William H	1950	Deceased (1999)

Moriarty, Paul J	1948	Deceased (1982)

Motherway, Thomas F	1969	Deceased (2003)

Murphy, Kenneth B	1946	Deceased (1999)

O’Donovan, Rickard J.	1949	Deceased (2000)

O'Neill, William V	1931	Deceased (1960)

Ouellette, Lionel P	1957	Deceased (2000)

Papile, Joseph A (Deacon)	1988	Deceased (2009)

Reilly, Joseph P	1943	Deceased (1992)

Roche, Allan E	1946	Deceased (1997)

Ryer, Robert L	1943	Deceased (1967)

Rynne, Paul P	1956	Deceased (2001)

Shaughnessey, James C	1937	Deceased (1989)

Shea, William B	1946	Deceased (2005)

Shea, Francis S	1932	Deceased (1972)

Spagnolia, D. George	1964	Deceased (2008)

St. Hilaire, Bernard	1951	Deceased (1977)

Sullivan, Michael D	1945	Deceased (2005)

Thomson, J. Garrett	1981	Deceased (2010)

Veneto, Joseph P	1946	Deceased (1998)

White, John J	1957	Deceased (2004)